Sir, – Deirdre Garvey of The Wheel (Letters, August 2nd) defends the charity sector but fails to address the core concern – that much of the work they do would not be necessary if human and other needs were met by government and, given the changes in employment rights in recent years, by employers (the number of working poor is rising and leaving many more people depending on charity).
Charities provide only temporary patches to many problems that require justice and long-term solutions.
Given that we have a Fine Gael-led Government, it is interesting to note that at one time that party produced a policy blueprint to reduce dependence on charity.
Declan Costello’s Just Society represented “a rights-based, forward-looking commitment to justice and to the common good of all in Ireland” and was clear that “we as a nation should not be dependent on charities to do the work of government”.
No citizen should have to depend on charity for services, and while the elimination entirely of need may be fanciful, its systematic reduction should be the top objective for any charity worthy of the name. This is not remotely what we see in Ireland, with the charity sector continuing to balloon, an issue that sector never addresses.
While giving assistance is laudable, it can in fact be uncharitable where the cause of the need is left unaddressed, thus allowing the vicious circle to persist. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.